hey elbereth,
the red blotching may just be part of the natural coloration of the bulb. My red lion amaryllis, as well as some others, have red blotching on the bulb, the bases of the leaves and even on the flower spikes. Click on the link below to see some of the red blotching on the bulb and leaf bases of my amaryllis.

Here is a link that might be useful: pics of my amaryllis

Thank you central_cali369! Your pictures made me less nervous!

elbereth,

If you got a sick bulb from the store, you should take it badck for an exchange. They will exchange it for you without any question.
The red spots on the new bulbs often appear because of rough handling and high pressure water washing. Amaryllis bulbs tend to turn red due to injuries. If you striped the spotted area away, and everything looks perfect under, then you are in good shape.
If you keep your bulb in water (which is not really a good idea, but I respect your personal choice), then don't let the water reach the basal plate. Only let the healthy, non-breakable roots reach into the water.
You can use the dirt that came in the amaryllis kit, if you want to plant anything (or even your bulb) in it. I don't see any reason why you should throw it out.

If you take pictures, you can go to photobucket.com, make an account, upload your pictures, resize them to user group size then copy the HTML code here, and ta-dam, your pictures will appear here.

Thanks for the tips soultan! I think I'll pot the bulb in soil in a few days or so if no new spots appear.

Here's a picture of some of the scales I removed from the bulb: {{gwi:435715}}

That's what I was going to say... you beat me to it, Soultan!!

Elbereth... next time you purchase an Amaryllis bulb, be sure to open kit boxes at the store to check for healthy bulbs... most of us here do this at retail stores... we open the boxes and look carefully at each bulb, choose the best looking one, and then purchase it...

Personally, I don't use either the soil or the plastic pot that comes with the bulbs in kits... I save those for plants that aren't quite so sensitive to moisture and constantly decomposing soil... I try to use unglazed clay pots and my personal choice of cocopeat mixed with vermiculite as the planting medium...

I use a moisture meter to be sure of correct moisture content of the medium, and I bottom water... these practices seem to help keep my bulbs healthy and at the correct moisture stage...

There are tons of past posts here in the forum loaded with good information on the culture of Amaryllis, excuse me, Hippeastrum bulbs! Plus, there are lots of knowledgeable people here happy to answer questions and help as much as possible!

Happy Gardening!

Thanks for your help, everyone.

One more thing to add: The bud is just opening, and I've noticed that some of the petals are red as well. The flower should be pure white though, so it seems like the flower is affected by whatever is wrong with the bulb. Do flowers show red spots from rough handling as well?

elbereth,
Make a pic please. Hard to know what exactly you are talking about. If the bud was out already and was tossed left and right in the box, it could have had some bruises, hence wounds.

Here's a picture of the inside of the partially opened flower:
{{gwi:435717}}

Hey Elizabeth! =) Does your white flower have any fragrance? It appears to be "Jewel", which is a semi-double. Beautiful flower either way and welcome! =)

Elbereth...I went to a Costco in baltimore and they had no more amaryllises. If I am not mistaken, that is a Jewel. It is a double flowering one (as you mentioned in your first post)which is supposed to have that red marking in the eye.

Hello Paxfleur! Just sniffed my amaryllis. It is fragrant ... very spicy scent. And yes, both you and Mariava7 are right: it was labelled as Hippeastrum 'Jewel'. But I never knew that Jewel has natural red markings in the eye. Thanks Mariava7! I'm definitely not worried about the flower anymore. But does natural coloration explain red markings on the roots too?

Everybody has Jewel blooming now. It is time I plant mine too... It is a very interesting Japanese variety. I have no idea where it came from... It is not too typical looking bloom.

Any red markings on the roots and bulb is not natural. Healthy roots are white.

Not good then ... a lot of the thicker older roots on the bulb are partly red, but still firm. The young ones are white and healthy.

Keep this bulb in its pot, and keep it separate from your other bulbs. Maybe it was dipped in some kind of fungicide or something that colored the older, dry roots. You shall see how this plant turns out. I would be really surprised if Costco sold you sick bulb.

Seems like all the amaryllis bulbs in stock at the store were affected. The red patches on the roots of my bulb have now spread to cover the whole basal plate and small red streaks have appeared on the stems, so I think this really is red blotch. I've returned the bulb to the store. Thanks anyways for everyone's help! I've learned so many good tips that I can use with my other amaryllis.

I'm curious, Elbereth, if you don't mind... what did the store say about the red blotch? I'm sure they refunded, Costco is rather good about that... I'm just rather curious... because if one bulb in their pallet load had red blotch, it's fairly safe to assume that more were affected... I wonder where the bulbs originated...

That's such a shame... I'm so sorry to hear about it... I know how disappointed I'd be, and I hope this episode doesn't turn you off to growing Amaryllis...

They have wonderful looking Amaryllis sets in my Costco. They are healthy and large bubls. What a shame elbereth, that you were unlucky with your purchase. Wish you better luck next time. Don't be discouraged.